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PHOTOS: John Kerry's career

Committee approves Kerry nom

Kerry confirmation hearing highlights

The swift confirmation was expected; the longtime Massachusetts senator and 2004 Democratic presidential nominee has won plaudits from both Democrats and Republicans, and fellow senators had given no indication that Kerry’s confirmation would be a problem. Earlier Tuesday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which Kerry has chaired, also unanimously advanced his nomination.

Kerry entered the Senate chamber shortly before 4:30 p.m. as his colleagues were voting on his confirmation. He was immediately greeted with handshakes and hugs from one colleague after another, and once the final vote tally was announced, the chamber broke out in a sustained applause.

Kerry was nominated by Obama in December to replace outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

“John has earned the respect of leaders around the world and the confidence of Democrats and Republicans in the Senate, and I am confident he will make an extraordinary secretary of state,” Obama said in a statement Tuesday. “I look forward to his counsel and partnership in the years ahead as we ensure American leadership in the world and advance the interests and values that keep our nation strong.”

His ascendance to be the nation’s chief diplomat was expected, particularly after another top choice to become secretary of state — Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations — withdrew from consideration following the controversy over her characterizations of the Sept. 11, 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya.

“We’re so proud of John,” Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) told reporters. “This is a great way to take his public career to a new level. He is certainly capable of this job, and as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, we all know well how he deals with diplomatic challenges. He’s going to be a great secretary of state.”

Still, the veteran senator ran into some opposition. A spokesman for Cornyn said he voted no because Kerry “has a long history of liberal positions that are not consistent with a majority of Texans.”